Implicit and Explicit Communication Rules (Reaction Paper Sample)

Implicit and Explicit Communication Rules Name Institution Introduction Rules, whether implicit or explicit, to large extent influence our interactions with other people and the environment we live in. As human beings, in order to coexist harmoniously with one another, we have to be aware of the norms, both written and unwritten, in our surrounding. How we perceive and respond to these rules vary. Some people may observe the rules devotedly while others may ignore them. Every event that involves a gathering of people has its rules that have to be observed by participants. This essay examines the implicit and explicit rules of Vancouver Art Gallery specifically at Picasso’s exhibit: The Artist and His Muses. ‘Picasso: The Artist and his Muses’ is arguably the most famous exhibit among those present at the Vancouver Art Gallery during the exhibition period. Picasso’s exhibit is among over 60 other works that include sculptures, paintings, and works on paper that have been open for public viewing in the gallery since June 11 and will continue till October 2. After I got information about the exhibition from an article CBC News’ website authored by GalIager & Fisher (2016), I visited the Vancouver Art Gallery to examine how visitors respond to both explicit and implicit rules particularly at Picasso’s exhibition: The Artist and his Muses. Through simple observation of how visitors interact with one another and how they behave during the event, I managed to gather a few things that characterize the venue regarding explicit and implicit rules. According to Deacon et al. (2007), in simple observation methods, the observer has no relationship with the people being observed, who are not aware they are being observed (p.250). Through an hour and a half long observation, I gathered some important information about the visitors and the venue. Observation After securing my ticket, I headed to the exhibition anticipating a challenging but an exciting session. Before going, I had decided to check out more details about the exhibition from the venue’s website (Vancouver Art Gallery, 2016). From what I had gathered, Picasso’s exhibit, The Artist and his Muses, was a popular one, and I decided that that was where I was going to spend most of my afternoon gathering information about communication of rules. As I entered Vancouver Art Gallery, I could notice that groups of people were also entering most of who walked in couples. It is at the entrance that I noticed the first explicit rule: ‘NO PHOTOS’. It was thus prohibited to take photos within the premises. After my ticket had been checked, I headed directly to Picasso’s exhibition. Located downstairs, the exhibition was crowded indicating the popularity of Picasso’s paintings. I must admit that Picasso’s exhibit was magical, and it is without a doubt the main attraction in the gallery. You could see the excitement on people’s faces as they walked in the exhibition examining the beautiful artworks by Picasso. I could not help feeling uneasy walking into the exhibition given the little history I knew about Picasso and his women. The tour for me, therefore, was partly about the Picasso’s artistic and romantic aspirations. It didn’t matter whether history depicts Picasso as a womanizer or even a violent partner; I was there to enjoy his artworks and also to gather information about communication rules. It was evident, however, that Picasso: The Artist and His Muses is not just a celebration of Picasso’s weeping or reclining, it is a celebration of the women he painted. One can’t help but think that the women were not simply muses; but were the inspiration behind the Picasso’s works. I observed that the exhibition was divided into six sections, one for each of the Picasso’s women. Each section had a big photograph of the woman and a story describing her. The fascination was clear among the visitors as they examined the pieces of art. Before the getting further into the exhibition I observed some explicit and implicit rules. The second explicit rule I noticed was the ‘DO NOT TOUCH’ sign. Despite it being an obvious rule in an art gallery, it was elaborated for everyone to see. This rule was followed fully, and despite having my eyes on people and how they behaved, I could not find any that got very close to the painting. Although there were many people in the exhibition, everyone kept their distance from the paintings. As such, this gives us another rule, an implicit one: that one is supposed to keep some space between him or her and the paintings. I did not see anyone breaking this implicit rule, and everyone kept a considerable distance away from the pieces of work. At the art gallery, Picasso’s exhibition starts with Fernande Olivier (1881-1966). Her story on the large photograph displayed shows that she was considered Picasso’s first great love. The story describing the painting show that Picasso and Olivier met in 1904 in Paris after the latter had run away from an abusive marriage. The exhibition explains that Olivier had great influence on Picasso’s work. However, in 1912, due to mutual infidelities, they got separated. The section is clearly educational not only for me but also for the visitors in the exhibition. Through my observation, I gathered that the visitors took their time to examine each of the artworks by Picasso and they could not hide their amazements through occasional smiles and fascination written on their faces. It was at this point that I noticed other implicit rules: ‘maintain silence and keep your mobile phones away’. It was clear at the entrance that no photographs are allowed; however, it was until I was into the second section of Picasso’s exhibition that this implicit rule hit me. As a covert participant observer, I had decided to keep my phone off in order to concentrate on the rules and how other participants observed them. There were not any noises apart from participants asking the staff one or two things. Even this was done in low voices. I wrote down that two of the implicit rules observed by the participants in the gallery are keeping their voice down and keeping their phones on silent or vibration mode. This demonstrates the courteousness observed by the participants and how they respect other visitors and the staff of the gallery. Throughout the subsequent sections from Olga Khokhlova (1891-1955) to Jacqueline Roque (1927-1986), I noticed that people took their time to examine and read the story of each piece or art. Generally, throughout the Picasso’s exhibition, the explicit and implicit rules were observed as people took their time to enjoy the pieces of art. However, I noticed a young man using his phone and appeared to be taking photographs. I could not establish whether he was taking photos or not. As such, I cannot confidently say that he broke an explicit rule I mentioned earlier. It took me almost an hour to observe people in the Picasso’s exhibition. As I had mentioned earlier, dwelling on Picasso’s exhibition was my main interest in the gallery. However, after gathering all I could in the exhibition, I decided to continue to other floors and see if I could gather anything important. I did not see any ‘NO SMOKING’ sign, but I did not notice anyone smoking. It was clear to me, therefore, that that was an implicit rule, and it was probably observed by everyone in attendance. In addition, another obvious rule and in the case of Vancouver, an implicit one, was that, ‘no food and drinks were allowed.’ I did not see anyone breaking this implicit rule; still I could not see a bottle of water in anyone’s possession. It is evident that the gallery has some explicit and implicit rules, all of which are generally observed by visitors. Analysis Throughout the one and a half our observation of rules in the gallery, I was able to get a picture of implicit and explicit rules present and how people respond to them. I will begin by analyzing the explicit rules I observed during my visit. As mentioned in the observation section, the first rule I noticed as I entered the gallery was an explicit one: ‘NO PHOTOS.' When such poster is displayed conspicuously, every visitor has to see it. In this regard, as one enters the gallery, one understands that it is prohibited to take photographs of the artworks. It is important to note that the reason for the prohibition of taking pictures is to protect the works of artists. Although I noted a young man appearing like he was taking a photograph, I was not close enough to determine whether or not he was actually doing it. Another explicit rule that I observed was the ‘DO NOT TOUCH’ sign on the exhibition. If the rule was not displayed conspicuously, it could have taken as an implicit one. However, this was displayed in the exhibition to be seen by the visitors as they examine the various pieces of art. As such, such rule means that the paintings can only be observed through eyes and not touching it. The reason for the prohibition of touching is clearly deducible: to prevent damage to the works of the artists and also to enable other people to view the paintings including future generations. These explicit rules were enforced by writing them and having them displayed to the visitors. From the observation and what I had written down, the implicit rules were pretty more that the explicit ones. One of the implicit rules I noticed was the distance kept from the paintings. People maintained a safe distance between them and the paintings despite it not being stated anywhere explicitly. This could be because they respected other people around and no one wanted to block others from viewing the Picasso’s paintings. Another rule I observed was calmness. The respect the visitor had for one another was clearly shown in...